mostlybaked-blog

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Good Saturday morning to y'all. Have a little Vampire Blues to start the day off right.

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Ok! Recipe Time!

  We've got a new winner at the bakeshop! These guys are sort of crunchy and chewy and moist- and totally satisfying. Must be all the butter. Part of the process of making these babies involves making a sort of crumble, which I find to be one of the most enjoyable and meditative things to do in the kitchen. I don't know what it is about blending together butter and flour and sugar with your fingertips that just instantly puts me at peace. It's not a complicated or rushed motion, just a steady one that eventually binds separate ingredients into one cohesive whole. It's existential, I'm telling you. Anyway. Give 'em a try. They keep well in the fridge for a few days, in the freezer for longer and they're best served at room temperature.

Apricot Hazelnut Bars

450g dried apricots, diced

375ml water

30g sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

Mix together in a medium saucepan and look over med-low heat until all of the liquid has evaporated and you're left with a thick and chunky jam-like filling. Cool slightly.

Meanwhile, prepare your crust:

50g oatmeal

50g hulled hemp seed (optional. You could also use sunflower seeds, etc.)

Generous 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

100g sugar

100g brown sugar

50g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

225g all-purpose flour

1/2 lb unsalted butter, quite cold and cut into cubes

Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the butter, rubbing it with your fingertips until you get a sort of pebbly, sandy-looking mixture. Press half of this mixture into a 9x13-inch metal baking pan lined with aluminium foil. Carefully spread the apricot filling over the base. Cover with the remaining crumble mixture and press gently to even it out. Pop the pan in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 375 F, or until the crust is a light golden colour. Cool completely before cutting.

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Energy efficient fridge/freezer

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Happy Cake for Uncle Buck

This is the first recipe I've made from my latest book purchase, "Delia's Cakes". The cake itself was great; almond and grated chocolate. I deviated a bit from the recipe and used a chocolate buttercream I had on hand instead of the suggested chocolate ganache filling/frosting, but I had no complaints!  

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Ok fine, I really like this shot too. Perito Moreno, Argentina

I want to make a cake that looks like a glacier.

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Nature in action in Puerto Madryn, Argentina

I won't bore you all with too many details about my trip, but I really like this shot.

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Rainbow "Trout" Cake 

... I had a lot of fun with this one :) 

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Fresh, fresh blueberry tart 

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...and in an unusual fit of patriotism, she decorated a large cake.

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… The cake itself was average, but the icing was above-and-beyond. 

European-style buttercreams don’t have any icing sugar and rely on eggs and butter to hold their shape. This means a couple of things. One, they are richer and smoother and better-tasting than anything made with icing sugar. Two, they are not as stable and so are susceptible to melting and separating and causing panic to the unaccustomed baker. 

I’m going to go through the recipe slowly and try to be as clear as possible. It takes some practice; buttercream icings were a big part of our training in pastry school and believe you me, we all encountered some problems at one point or another. Once you get it though, and once you taste it, you’ll never be able to go back. 

A word on equipment. I’m not trying to be discouraging or exclude anyone  here, but your life will be made considerably easier if you have a stand-up KitchenAid mixer, an instant-read thermometer, and a blowtorch. 

This recipe makes a lot. (Like, 2 kilos). For a double layer, 8 inch cake, you would be fine with half a recipe. 

Ok. Let’s do this.

ULTRA SMOOTH DIET CHOCOLATE  BUTTERCREAM

Take 2 LBS of UNSALTED BUTTER out of the fridge, cut into small pieces, and bring to room temp. 

In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, mix 400g SUGAR with 1/3 cup WATER and 1tbsp CORN SYRUP. Put on medium-high heat and bring to 115 degrees C (that’s 240 F). This will take a few minutes, so you don’t need to stand there with the termometer for the whole time. KEEP WATCH though, once it hits about 110 C, the temperature rise very quickly. DON’T STIR. 

In those first few moments after you put the water and sugar to boil, hop over to your mixer and beat 6 LARGE EGGS. Leave the mixer on medium speed while you go back and watch your sugar. 

When it hits 115 C, turn off the burner, remove from heat and pour over the eggs. THIS IS TRICKY. One, turn the mixer on to LOW SPEED. Two, pour in a slow and steady stream. Three, aim away from the whisk. Once all the water/sugar is added, return to medium-high speed and continue to beat until the mixture is light and cooled almost completely. (This could take up to 15 minutes or more, which is why a stand mixer is almost obligatory.)  

Meanwhile, chop up 1LB of chocolate (I use half semi-sweet and half unsweetened. If you use all semi-sweet, cut the sugar by half). Put into a metal bowl and set over a pan of simmering water to melt. 

Once the mixture has cooled (feel the outside of the bowl), add 1tsp SALT and 1tsp VANILLA. Now you can start adding the butter. Do it gradually, adding one piece at a time, softening it a bit with your fingers before you throw it into the bowl. All the while, keep the mixer on med-low speed. Oh, don’t forget about your chocolate. Once it’s melted, remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.

Now, as you’re adding the butter, things may start to look funny. It might seem as though the butter and egg are not mixing (this is because your butter is too cold). It may seem like the whole thing is turning into soup (this is because your eggs are still too warm). The key here is to have both the eggs and the butter at the same temperature so that they can mix smoothly. 

…Are you still there? We’re going strong, guys. Going strong. 

Once all the butter is added, beat on high speed for a bit until the you get something that it totally smooth and kind of fluffy. Turn off the mixer and add the melted, cooled, chocolate. Whip it up for a minute or so until the chocolate is evenly mixed in. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl every now and then. 

At this point, the icing is theoretically ready to use (taste now, swoon), but it will be much easier to frost the cake and make decorations with it if it’s been left in the fridge to firm up a bit. 

If you’re super organized and have the made the buttercream a day (or week) before you plan to use it, cover and keep in the fridge. When the time comes to use it, leave it a room temperature for about 10 minutes and then put it back in the mixer with the whisk attachment and beat until smooth. This is where the blowtorch comes in handy. If it looks like it wants to separate or is staying clumpy, gently heat the bowl using the blowtorch. KEEP IT MOVING. Don’t just hold the flame in once spot, or you’ll burn the icing in the spot. Rather, slowly and constantly move the flame all around the sides and bottom of the bowl. OOH, THIS IS QUITE FUN! Do this for a few seconds, then turn off the blow torch and keep beating. Repeat if necessary.

FYI This icing also freezes really well. 

Whew. Ok. What a mouthful.

…A mouthful of swanky and delightful goodness that is! Ha!

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Don't Be Hatin' on Dates

Have you guys heard about the Miraculous Fruit & Nut Bars? No, I'm not talking about those dodgy Cadbury bars full of raisins. I'm talking about groovy little energy-packed treats that are full of the good stuff and that would even keep the Tarahumara running. I've been making these for the bake shop, and let me tell you, those who like 'em, like 'em a lot. Some folks come in and buy them ten at a time to make sure they don't run out. 

They are super easy to make, keep well (up to two weeks on the counter, longer in the fridge or freezer), and are actually good for you, too. 

From the indispensable Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy, Melt-in-your-mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich.

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp whole wheat flour

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

7 oz (about 2 cups) walnut pieces 

9 oz (about 1 1/2 cups) pitted dates, roughly chopped

5 oz (about 1 cup) dried apricots (I like to use the "natural" type without sulfites)

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. 

In a large bowl, toss up the dried fruit and nuts. (You can substitute other kinds of fruit and nuts, by the way. I also make a pretty kick-ass version with dried figs, candied ginger, and hazelnuts.)

Pour the dry ingredients over the fruit and toss it all together using your hands. Make sure to break up any pieces of fruit that might be sticking together and that everything gets a good coating of the flour mixture. 

In the small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla until light and frothy. Scrape over the fruit mixture and mix together using your hands. It might look like there's not enough egg, but there is. Just keep mixing. 

Spread the mixture into an 8x8 inch pan lined with foil. Wet your hands and press the mixture firmly to even it out. 

Pop in the oven and bake at 325 F for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely before removing from pan and cutting. 

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Quinoa and Bean Soup with Lime

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my ma making pasta a la nonna

photo taken by her sister 

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Olive & Lemon Sourdough

I've been tending to my sourdough starter since November and this was the latest loaf I pulled from the home oven. 

The technique I used is largely styled after Chad Robertson's. 

Pitted Kalamata olives and lemon zest were folded into the dough after bulk fermentation. Final rise took over 6 hours... But totally worth it! 

As far as I can tell, Robertson's method of baking bread in a large le Creuset pot (to imitate the steam-injected ovens used in commercial operations) gives incredible results for the home baker. 

I made a vegetarian chili and served it with this bread in place of rice. Damn fine eatin'. 

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sometimes, i think i live in narnia

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natural habitat 

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bleu. 

(apologies to the vegetarians)